This page gathers the general teaching of the scholars about doubts (shubuhat [doubts and misconceptions raised against the religion]): what a doubt is, why doubts arise and spread, how the people of knowledge answer them, and how a believer stays safe from them. Doubts about Tawheed [Allah’s oneness, that He alone is God] are not new, and they are not answered here one by one: the specific doubts have their own pages, linked in the Further Reading at the end of this page. Everything quoted on this page comes from one book: Removal of Doubts, by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, with its explanation by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen.
What a Doubt Is
The explanation begins by fixing the meanings of the words themselves. On the author’s opening words, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen writes:
“Knowledge (al-‘Ilm) is to comprehend with certainty the reality of something.”
“Comprehension can be subdivided into six categories:”
“The First: Knowledge which was previously defined.”
“The Second: A slight subtle ignorance (al-Jahl al-Basīt), which is the inability of comprehending something completely.”
“The Third: Compounded ignorance (al-Jahl al-Murakkab), which is to comprehend something in a manner contrary to its reality. It is called compounded ignorance because it consists of two types of ignorance: An individual’s ignorance of the truth and his ignorance in thinking that he knows while he does not.”
“The Fourth: Misunderstanding (al-Wahm) which is to grasp something with a type of comprehension which actually opposes that which is understood to be more correct.”
“The Fifth: Doubt (al-Shakk) which is to grasp something with a type of comprehension which is possibly correct and possibly incorrect.”
“The Sixth: Inference (al-Ẓann) which is to grasp something with a type of comprehension which is more likely to be true, because that which opposes it is held to be weak or questionable.”
A doubt, then, is not knowledge. It is a grasp of something that may be right and may be wrong, and it stands below certainty. Where knowledge is weak or incomplete, there is room for a doubt to enter, and to look stronger than it really is.
That is why the author of the book set out to bring the arguments of the polytheists into the open, one by one. The explanation gives his reason:
“He mentioned that he would expose these doubts because they are not sound arguments and they are nothing more than doubts and deception.”
Why Doubts Happen
Doubts take hold where knowledge is weak. A person who has not learned the foundations of Tawheed and of worship can find a confusing idea convincing, especially when truth is mixed with falsehood: the explanation of the verse quoted below describes the people of falsehood as using their arguments to disguise the truth with falsehood. Behind the spreading of doubts there are also hearts that have deviated. Rather than rest on the clear verses, they go after what is unclear in them, looking for discord, and a verse that seems to support their falsehood is made to look like a proof. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen writes:
“For this reason you find that the people of misguidance – and Allah’s refuge is sought – seek after the ambiguous āyāt of the Qur’ān in order to use them in support of their falsehood. So they say for example: Allah says such and such and He says in another place such and such. So how can this be?”
How Scholars Answer Doubts
The scholars’ answer does not begin with the doubt. It begins with the Book, because the refutation of every doubt is already in it. The author writes:
“So a person of falsehood cannot present any argument except that there is in the Qur’ān that which refutes it and clarifies its fallacy, as Allah says, ‘And they do not come to you with an example except that We bring you the truth and the best explanation.’ [Sūrah al-Furqān 25:33]”
“Some of the Scholars of Tafsīr have said, ‘This āyah is general and encompasses every argument presented by the people of falsehood until the Day of Resurrection.’ I will mention to you some of the things which Allah has mentioned in His Book as a response to the speech that the polytheists in our time use against us.”
The book’s footnote on the first of these two passages adds that when a person of falsehood brings an authentic evidence from the Qur’an and the Sunnah to support his falsehood, that evidence is in fact a proof against him and not for him, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah stated in the introduction to his book Dar’ al-Ta’arud. The outcome is not in doubt either: the author states that the army of Allah will prevail by clear proofs and arguments of the tongue, just as it prevails by the sword and the spear.
The answering itself is done in a set manner. The author writes:
“So we say that answering the people of falsehood can be done in two ways: a general response and a detailed response. As for the general response then it consists of great benefit and is of major importance to those who understand it. It is what is mentioned in Allah’s statement, ‘It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses which are clear and precise – they are foundations of the Book – and others that are unclear. As for those whose hearts have deviated, then they follow after that which is unclear, seeking by way of it discord and seeking after it’s hidden interpretation. And no one knows its hidden interpretation except Allah.’ [Sūrah Āli-‘Imrān 3:7]”
The explanation describes this manner:
“This is the manner in which the people of knowledge approach and address issues of debate and contention. They begin by offering a general response that includes what the cunning and deceitful opponent might mention. Then they address each and every matter independently with a detailed response as Allah says, ‘This is a Book whose āyāt are perfected and then presented in detail from one who is Wise and Acquainted.’ [Sūrah Hood 11:1]”
They also look at how the early generations understood the religion, because their understanding protects a person from newly introduced confusions. The goal is not argument for the sake of argument, but to remove uncertainty and restore clarity and certainty in faith.
How to Stay Safe
Safety from doubts is not found in having no knowledge, but in having enough of it. On the author’s words about the person of Tawheed who travels this path unarmed, the explanation’s footnote says:
“This means that this fear of the enemies of the Prophets only exists for the person of Tawhīd who traverses upon this path unarmed. This is because he does not possess the knowledge, which is necessary for him to be able to protect himself. So it is feared that he may debate with someone from the polytheists and as a result of his lack of evidence he is overpowered. So it is imperative that a person possesses enough knowledge to allow him to protect himself from doubts and and overcome his opponent.”
Learning the foundations first, before the complex issues, and not exposing oneself to doubtful matters unprepared, belong to the same protection. And when a question or a confusion does arise, it is not carried alone. After setting out the verses that command asking the people of knowledge, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen concludes: “This clarifies for us that we should return every affair to qualified people who are considered the people of knowledge in that field.” Those verses, and the whole subject of returning matters, are set out on Returning Matters to the Scholars, and the virtue and duty of seeking knowledge itself are set out on Seeking Knowledge (Talab al-Ilm).
References
Explanation of Removal of Doubts (Kashf ash-Shubuhat): matn by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, explanation by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen, prepared by Fahd ibn Nasir as-Sulayman; IIIN Bookstore and Da’wah Center, second edition 1436H/2015CE, translated by Qasim Mutiva (printed pp. 74, 164, 166, 169, 171-176).
In quotations, the divine name is written “Allah” throughout. The book prints it with a long mark, “Allāh”; the spelling is standardised here, and nothing else in the wording is changed. The book’s Arabic honorifics, printed in parentheses after Allah’s name inside three of the passages, are not reproduced. The verses of the Qur’an quoted on this page (25:33 and 3:7) are quoted in this book’s own printings.
Further Reading
- Do All Muslims Enter Paradise No Matter What?: a specific doubt, answered on its own page.
- As Long As You’re Sincere, It’s Accepted?: a specific doubt, answered on its own page.
- Innovation Can Be Good If Intention Is Good?: a specific doubt, answered on its own page.
- Learning Before Debating: why knowledge comes before entering debates.
- Returning Matters to the Scholars: why questions and doubts go back to the people of knowledge.
- Seeking Knowledge (Talab al-Ilm): the virtue of knowledge, the duty of seeking it, and the protection it gives.
Verified on 2026-10-25 against the books listed above.